I am taking the DC Area Research course coordinated by Rick and Pam Sayer.

Pam Sayre described the online resources at the Library of Congress websitewww.loc.gov, including my favorite American Memories Project. She mentioned that some pre-1980 catalog items may not be in the online catalog, and described the prospect of ordering a title found here from another library to yours using ILL Interlibrary Loan. Other manuscripts, photographs and microforms are in "collection level" catalogs, not on the main http://catalog.loc.gov.I'll be looking up ancestral towns in the Panoramic Maps 1847-1929 at Pam's suggestion. I didn't realize tiny towns had such maps drawn up.

Claire Bettag joined us the second hour to discuss the manuscript collections at the Library of Congress. Since manuscripts are not digitized or transcribed, Claire spent much time explaining various finding aids (some published online) to better access these records. I'll be finding my June 2006 issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly 94, No. 2 pp 133-42 for Mary Bell's "Finding Original Materials using [NUCMC]." Apparently I didn't have time to complete the title of that article in my notes, but thankfully I did manage to scribble down the NGSQ issue and page numbers to locate Mary's advice.

After lunch, Pam Sayre showed us the recently revised National Archives (US) website. Significant is the "Google-Like", "all catalogs" search option now available on the www.archives.gov home page. I'll need to look at the index available at this site of World War II Army Enlistment Records to locate my father's Army serial number. Pam estimates one is more likely to receive a positive response from the Army Personnel Records Center (A NARA facility) in St. Louis with that information. (Yes, I know many of the WWII records were burned, but one can only hope...)

Rick Sayre's American State Papers class provided the most new information to this researcher. He cleared up my confusion over partial and apparently complete online ASP resources. I had previously relied on Phillip McMullin's Grassroots of America, but never realized that by using that publication I was limiting myself to Class VIII Public Lands and Class IX Claims. The other eight classes in the American State Papers (1789-1838) include: Foreign Relations (I), Indian Affairs (II), Finances (III), Commerce and Navigation (IV) [including lighthouses], Military Affairs (V), Naval Affairs (VI), Post Office Department (VII), and Miscellaneous (X).

Gosh, now I just need about 24 more hours per day to explore new avenues of research when I get back to Alexandria, Virginia, within a metro ride of these research institutions.

3 comments:

Carole Ashbridge has left a new comment )but I inadvertantly deleted it!)

RE:"Salt Lake Institute: Day #1":

Just in case you run into any problems with the iPad, this was a posting by a librarian friend of mine who lost all sorts of notes when using her iPad. The comments are helpful.Can't wait to get mine!Carolehttp://wanderings.edublogs.org/2010/12/13/ipads-not-perfect/